I am happy to tell you that the James Ossuary, after a ten year battle, has finally been returned to Oded Golan, its rightful owner. Unfortunately, according to Golan, it has been allowed to deteriorate while in the hands of the IAA. It may or may not be up to more rigorous tests. We shall see. A decade has been wasted on a fruitless trial. Matthew Kalman has sent me his article which just appeared in the NY Daily News. First, here is some pictures of Golan recovering the box…..
The link to Matthew’s article is here—-http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/burial-box-jesus-brother-article-1.1512371.
And here is an excerpt from Kalman’s article—
The Israeli Antiquities Authority seized the ossuary, and its experts said the words “brother of Jesus” had been added to the original inscription. Golan was arrested in 2003 and put on trial.
In March 2012, Golan was acquitted of forgery, but some experts still maintain the box is a fake. Golan and other experts are convinced it is the real thing.
In an exclusive interview Golan said it is time for people to hear the whole story.
“The inscription is ancient for sure. We proved that at the trial,” he said. “It’s time to have this debate in a public exhibition, and let people decide for themselves.”
In their zeal to prove their allegations, the Israeli authorities may have wrecked the chances of conclusive scientific tests.
“It’s not in the same condition as before the trial. The inscription was defaced, contaminated,” Golan said. “I have to evaluate the damage, see if it can be restored and if there is the possibility of carrying out further tests on the inscription in future that will allow us to show its authenticity.”
Golan says he won’t be parting with it again – no matter how much he is offered. “In the long term it will remain in Israel,” he vowed.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/burial-box-jesus-brother-article-1.1512371
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